Importance of Forgiveness

Forgiveness refers to the act of forgiving someone for an error or misdoing. That man or woman is really great and noble who, instead of planning vengeance for wrongs and devising punishment for wrong-doers, tries to bring out whatever good there may reside in others.

This world is an arena where we have all to show our worth. God has endowed us with moral virtues by the proper use of which we may be happy. We have also evil propensities; and it is for us to choose whether we shall be guided by the former or by the latter. He has given us the divine quality of mercy, which prompts us to treat leniently the failings of our brethren, to forget injuries, to pardon those who have offended us, and even to love our enemies.

A man or woman of an angry and vindictive disposition hardly succeeds in life. In order to get the greatest amount of good from your fellow-beings, you must put up with many of their failings, and must deal with them sympathetically. In short, you must try to make the best use of whatever good qualities you find in them. If instead you estrange yourself from them in anger and disgust, the result will be that you will have no chance of correcting the wrong impression you may have formed of a person. You will forever be deprived of the benefit you could have derived from association with him.

Lastly, it is very difficult to say whether anybody in this imperfect world of ours is competent to sit in judgment on others. Failings you will find everywhere; and before judging others, you will do well to look yourself. You might find in your cooler moments that your own life ought to have been far higher and nobler than it is, and your pride and vanity will be humbled. ‘Forgive and forget’ should be the motto of your life.